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Donald Trump and his administration’s assault on the environment and public health over just his first year in office has been more brazen and comprehensive than anyone could have imagined. At a time of unparalleled threats to the planet, the forces of greed and unchecked pollution are using their new power under Trump and Scott Pruitt to reverse the environmental gains of the past five decades. The damage is real, ongoing, and in many instances permanent –- people are suffering right now, lost species and wilderness landscapes are never coming back, and delaying climate action risks catastrophic harm on a scale never previously experienced.
But amidst the darkness there are also rays of hope -– the Administration’s unprecedented assault has inspired an unprecedented resistance by Sierra Club members and supporters as well environmental advocates nationwide; America’s institutions of environmental protection are too strong to be destroyed quickly; and individuals, communities, States, Tribes, and other nations are working to ensure that Trump’s assaults are thwarted and even that progress continues in other areas.
To fight back effectively, it's essential for environmental advocates to understand exactly what the Trump administration is doing to make the world safe for polluters -- and how they are doing it. The Trump / Pruitt assault is comprehensive and sophisticated in design, despite the many instances of incompetence.
In addition to efforts to weaken safeguards against toxic pollution, we are also seeing an effort to undercut America’s capacity to police industrial pollution in the first place, while other policies are designed to derail our progress toward an economy powered by clean energy.
The scale of the threats are immense. The Trump administration is denying, muzzling, and defunding science . . . hacking away at the people and institutions dedicated to environmental protection . . . handing over public lands and resources to oil and coal companies . . . carrying out an industry wish list of weakening and revoking regulatory protections . . . and hiding all of this from the American people.
This blog series will explore the worst abuses, action, and threats posed by the Trump administration so that no ambiguity remains about just how strong we must, collectively, resist.